My Friend Leonard

4.11 - 1251 ratings - Source

Perhaps the most unconventional and literally breathtaking father-son story you'll ever read, My Friend Leonard pulls you immediately and deeply into a relationship as unusual as it is inspiring. The father figure is Leonard, the high-living, recovering coke addict qWest Coast Director of a large Italian-American finance firmq (read: mobster) who helped to keep James Frey clean in A Million Little Pieces. The son is, of course, James, damaged perhaps beyond repair by years of crack and alcohol addiction-and by more than a few cruel tricks of fate. James embarks on his post-rehab existence in Chicago emotionally devastated, broke, and afraid to get close to other people. But then Leonard comes back into his life, and everything changes. Leonard offers his qsonq lucrative-if illegal and slightly dangerous-employment. He teaches James to enjoy life, sober, for the first time. He instructs him in the art of qliving boldly, q pushes him to pursue his passion for writing, and provides a watchful and supportive veil of protection under which James can get his life together. Both Leonard's and James's careers flourish . . . but then Leonard vanishes. When the reasons behind his mysterious absence are revealed, the book opens up in unexpected emotional ways. My Friend Leonard showcases a brilliant and energetic young writer rising to important new challenges-displaying surprising warmth, humor, and maturity-without losing his intensity. This book proves that one of the most provocative literary voices of his generation is also one of the most emphatically human. Amazon.com Review In the bold and heartbreaking My Friend Leonard, James Frey picks up the story of his extraordinary life pretty much where things left off in his breakout bestseller and Amazon.com Best Book of 2003, A Million Little Pieces, the fierce, in-your-face memoir about Frey's kamikaze run of self-destruction and his days in rehab. Fresh from a stint in jail from pre-rehab-related charges (qOn my first day in jail, a three hundred pound man named Porterhouse hit me in the back of the head with a metal tray.q), clean-living Frey returns to Chicago and gets sucker-punched with a cruel blow that will leave readers ducking for cover in anticipation of the blinding bender that's sure to come. But then the titular Leonard, the larger-than-life Vegas mobster (qWest Coast Director of a large Italian finance firmq) whom James befriended in rehab, steps into the story and serves equal parts unlikely life coach, guardian angel, and father figure for the grief-stricken author, adopting him as his qsonq and schooling him in the fine art of qliving boldlyq: Be not bold, be f-cking BOLD. Every time you meet someone, make a f-cking impression. Make them think you're the hottest shit in the world. Make them think they're gonna lose their job if they don't give you one. Look 'em in the eye, and never look away. Be confident and calm, be f-cking bold. Hurricane Leonard storms into James's life, showering his young charge with multi-course feasts at steakhouses and Italian restaurants, courtside seats at Bulls' games, Cuban cigars, and an elaborate Super Bowl party in Los Angeles, all the while doling out wisdom on life and love and motivating James to stick to his burgeoning writing career. James even has a brief stint as an employee of Leonard's, though occupational hazards--like having a nine millimeter shoved in his face--prove too much for the novice bag man (though he does make enough to invest his earnings in a Picasso drawing). When Leonard drops out of sight for an extended period, his absence leaves readers aching to hear the familiar refrain of qMy Son!q just one more time. Frey sticks to the taut, staccato style that shot through A Million Little Pieces with such raw electricity. Surprisingly, the tone feels equally at home with this book's focus on friendship and extreme loyalty, and works to intensify the always-looming, adrenaline-rush threat of violence and the lure of the Fury that courses like a riptide throughout the book. Ultimately, it's a sense of hope, and humor even, that prevails and makes My Friend Leonard a stand-alone success. Despite his shady pedigree, you'll long to have a friend like Leonard just a phone call away. --Brad Thomas Parsons James Frey's List of Books You Should Read Paris Spleen Tropic of Cancer The Great Santini See more recommendations from James Frey Amazon.com's Significant Seven James Frey graciously agreed to answer the questions we like to ask every author: the Amazon.com Significant Seven. Q: What book has had the most significant impact on your life? A: Tao te Ching by Lao Tsu. Completely changed how I think, behave, live my life. Nothing else comes close. Q: You are stranded on a desert island with only one book, one CD, and one DVD--what are they? A: The book would be the Tao te Ching, the CD would be some compilation of love songs from the 70as and 80as, and the DVD would be highlights from the history of the Cleveland Browns. Q: What is the worst lie you've ever told? A: No way I can answer that. Q: Describe the perfect writing environment. A: I've been working at the same desk since I started writing. It's old and beaten-up and black. The rest of my workroom is empty, except for some crazy sh-- on the wall in front of me: pictures of people I admire, reproductions of artwork I dig, sayings that motivate me, things like--bare your soul, be bold, page a day motherfu--er page a day. I listen to music while I work, have a pile of nicotine gum and a couple cans of diet coke. My dogs are usually a couple feet away from me. I've always worked this way, probably always will. Q: If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? A: qLoved, lost, laughed, left.q Q: Who is the one person living or dead that you would like to have dinner with? A: Winston Churchill Q: If you could have one superpower, what would it be? A: Immortality. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Frey achieves another stylistic coup as he develops a narrative thread begun in 2003's A Million Little Pieces. He chronicles his journey out of the terrifying darkness of addiction, and the friend he meets along the way, Leonard. A gangster, raconteur and mentor, Leonard was introduced in Pieces as one of Frey's new rehab friends. Here, he pushes Frey out into the world, pampering him one moment, giving him tough love the next. As in Pieces, Frey's style throughout is loose, untraditional yet perfectly crafted: q[Leonard] offered me his hand and said good, I'm fucked up too, and I like fucked-up people, let's sit and eat and see if we can be friends. I took his hand and I shook it and we sat down and we ate together and we became friends.q There's something mesmerizing about the endless tumble of words, the nonstop spilling out of Frey's troubles and triumphs. In the hands of a less capable writer, all of this cool, tight narration might numb the reader and distance the experience. Instead, this book packs a full-body emotional wallop. Frey's eye is keen for detail: the inside of a county lockup; the flat, gray Chicago winter; an out-of-control Super Bowl party in Los Angeles; the grind of living day to dayaall come alive in his sparse, powerful prose. At its core, this is an examination of a friendship. Frey's extraordinary relationship with Leonard is alive, a flesh-and-blood bond forged in the agony of rehab and sustained through honesty and trust. Agent, Kassie Evashevski at Brillstein/Grey Entertainment. (June) Product Details Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (June 16, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 1573223158 ASIN: B000QUUTOQ Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (416 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58, 098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) Did we miss any relevant features for this product? Tell us what we missed. Would you like to update product info, give feedback on images, or tell us about a lower price? Customer Reviews 3.9 out of 5 stars (416) 3.9 out of 5 stars 5 star 237 4 star 63 3 star 23 2 star 21 1 star 72 See all 416 customer reviews a James Frey's new book, qMy Friend Leonardq is every bit as good if not better than qA Million Little Piecesq. a Margareeta J. Everett | 139 reviewers made a similar statement a The thing I love about James Frey's writing is that it is simple, but oh so moving...I laughed and cried while reading this book. a Marianne Stoltz | 75 reviewers made a similar statement a I lose interest in his loves he can't get it up with his beautiful new girlfriend he won't tell her why he still misses Lilly cries buys flowers cries. a Jason Smith | 9 reviewers made a similar statement Most Helpful Customer Reviews 38 of 47 people found the following review helpful 2.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunately, this book makes the first book less believable. December 2, 2005 By Jason Smith Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase Like many others, I found out about James Frey through Oprah and her book club. I read A Million Little Pieces quickly and intensely. I didn't question it at the time. I just wanted to finish it and see what happened to all the interesting characters. I immediately bought the follow-up and had it delivered with the 2 day option. I couldn't wait for the book to arrive. Then, I started thinking more about AMLP and wondering how true some of the parts might be, like the part where they have the boxing match and the authorities leave and they are allowed to bet and eat as much as they want from a catered company. I started to realize there might be some over-elaboration from Frey. Maybe he made some of it up, maybe a lot more than some of it. Then MFL arrives and I read it quickly. It lends itself to being read quickly because it is so repetitive. I agree with other reviews that say his style works much better as an addict than as a person who is distanced from that addiction. This style becomes difficult and tedious. I tire of it I take a break from reading I care less about what happens to the characters get a cold tasty cola. Skip a few pages. The writing becomes a parody of itself at times. It worked before but it doesn't in this book. In the qreal worldq Leonard becomes a much less believable character to me. Snapper is one dimensional at best. I lose interest in his loves he can't get it up with his beautiful new girlfriend he won't tell her why he still misses Lilly cries buys flowers cries. We hug. We seperate. We order steak, creamed spinach and a nice cold tasty cola. OK, you get it. I'm disappointed I hoped for better I feel like it was made up makes the first book less believable stop now stop stop. 1 Comment | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 46 of 58 people found the following review helpful 1.0 out of 5 stars Heartbroken, Dismayed, and Deceived January 19, 2006 By Spencer MacKenzie Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase I bought this book wanting to know more about Mr. Frey's life after qPieces.q Unfortunately, before I had a chance to pick the book up, the lies he told were revealed by The Smoking Gun. (Note: I have read qPiecesq was first pitched to publishers as a novel with no takers - it was the suggestion of his shameless agent to classify it as a memoir instead.) I opened this book and after a few pages I had to put it back down - everything I'd read dealt with his experiences in jail - everything was a lie. I felt literally sickened with doubt with each paragraph I read, knowing if something as crucial to his story as his jail time never happened, was there going to be any truth to the rest of this book? Did larger-than-life Leonard from the first book even exist? And how in the world did broken and pitiful Lilly commit suicide after his five hour release from jail... in the figments of the newly wealthy Mr. Frey's mind? Furthermore, according to qPiecesq both characters/people died; there is no way to substantiate their existance unless some long-lost relatives or friends of the deceased come forward to defend Mr. Frey (unlikely because Leonard conveniently had mob ties, and Lilly's grandmother passed away). I couldn't bring myself to continue on with the book - a first for me - not when every sentence read would now be construed with suspicion and doubt. It suddenly wasn't worth the effort. I've always finished the books I've started, knowing there would be at least some merit to them by the end... or else they wouldn't have been published in the first place. Or so I naively thought. (Time for me to grow up a little??) In this case I believe this book was published for the simple reason it would make money for the publisher, Mr. Frey, and his agent - readers be damned. 1 Comment | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 46 of 58 people found the following review helpful 1.0 out of 5 stars More Lies January 16, 2006 By P. Carter Format:Hardcover More lies from someone who should be listed as a very poor fiction writer. Comment | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No ao See all 416 customer reviews (newest first) Write a customer review Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Life Loved the way James Frey pulled my heart into the story. I cried when it was sad and smiled when it was happy. Read more Published 3 days ago by Jamie Stone 5.0 out of 5 stars Great book Product that was received was as advertised and it was received quickly. I will make purchases from this seller again. Published 5 days ago by Meladee Noble-Carbajal 4.0 out of 5 stars Bought it as a gift My boyfriend loves James Frey and he really likes this book. If you liked his first book I'm sure you'll like this one too. Published 6 days ago by SeaWolfz 5.0 out of 5 stars great! amazing read i recommend it to anyone especially if you fell that life is tough. james frey holds nothing back. Published 10 days ago by ilse 5.0 out of 5 stars love this book! I read this book in two days. I read A Million Little Pieces and loved it and I was so excited when I saw My Friend Leonard was a sequel to the story. Read more Published 17 days ago by soderdome 2.0 out of 5 stars My Friend Leonard Once I found out it was all a lie it took away the realism for me. It was suppose to be a memoir which it really wasn't. Published 25 days ago by Lillian Feldman 4.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly good read This book was a surprisingly enjoyable read. After being bitterly disappointed with A Million Little Pieces, I threw caution to the wind and read MFL. Read more Published 26 days ago by Rebecca L. McGregor 4.0 out of 5 stars Frey fan! If qA Million Little Piecesq left you wanting to read more about James, Lilly, and Leonard order this book. Read more Published 28 days ago by lindzweb 4.0 out of 5 stars Best ever Better then the first. I love the way he makes the words flow together. The stream of consciousness is perfect. Published 1 month ago by rptm 5.0 out of 5 stars My friend Leonard. James Frey Absolutely incredible book. You can literally feel his life and everything that happens to him. So glad that he made it through recovery. Hope that he is still doing well. Read more Published 2 months ago by L. 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I read this book in two days. I read A Million Little Pieces and loved it and I was so excited when I saw My Friend Leonard was a sequel to the story.

Title

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My Friend Leonard

Author

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Ahacan Kanat

Publisher

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- 2005-07-06

ISBN-13

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